Parent notes, doctor’s notes, vacations, tardies and truancy: Here’s what JCPS families need to know about excused and unexcused absences.
Your child wakes up sick. Do you need a doctor’s note?
What if you take a family vacation during the school year?
How many parent notes does JCPS allow? Do mental-health days count? What happens after three unexcused absences? And can early checkouts become an attendance problem?
JCPS attendance rules can be confusing because excused absence, unexcused absence, truancy and chronic absenteeism are not the same thing.
Here are the five rules parents should understand.
IMPORTANT: JCPS has districtwide attendance rules, but individual schools may have tighter deadlines or additional procedures for submitting notes, reporting absences, tardies and early checkouts. Always confirm the procedure with your school's attendance clerk. Bloom Elementary, for example, currently requires absence notes within three school days.
The Four Numbers to Remember
10 days — JCPS's standard illness allowance before an approved exception or additional documentation may become necessary.
3 unexcused — Three unexcused absences or three unexcused tardies meet Kentucky's definition of truancy.
15 unexcused — Current Kentucky law requires certain cases to be referred to the County Attorney.
10% missed — A student can be considered chronically absent even when the absences were excused.
Last verified: August 17, 2026.
1. A Parent Note Does Not Automatically Make an Absence Excused
This is probably the first thing JCPS parents need to understand.
Telling the school why your child was absent and having the absence officially classified as excused are two different things.
JCPS currently uses three useful attendance categories:
Green — Excused
These can include:
Student illness, including mental or behavioral health reasons
Death or severe illness in the immediate family
Religious holidays and practices
Other valid reasons approved by the principal
These absences do not count toward truancy, but regular excused absences do count toward chronic absenteeism.
Gray — Excused-Exempt
Certain absences receive special treatment and do not count against attendance in the same way.
JCPS currently lists examples including:
An approved Educational Enhancement Opportunity
A late JCPS bus
One qualifying Kentucky State Fair day
Certain military-related absences
Legislative page programs
Red — Unexcused
JCPS describes these as absences without required documentation or absences that are not approved under its attendance rules.
So calling the school and saying, “We're going to be out of town this week,” tells the school where your child is.
It does not automatically make the absence excused.
2. How Many Parent Notes Does JCPS Allow?
JCPS's current district guidance says a student's illness—including mental or behavioral health reasons—can be excused for up to 10 days, unless an approved exception applies.
The practical detail parents should remember is this:
The limit concerns days absent—not the number of pieces of paper you submit.
If your child has the flu Monday through Wednesday and you send one parent note covering all three days, that still represents three days toward the 10-day illness allowance.
When should you get a doctor's note?
If your child actually sees a physician, dentist or other medical provider, ask for school documentation before leaving.
A doctor's note is especially useful when a child:
Has a prolonged illness
Has recurring medical problems
Is approaching the parent-note limit
Is likely to miss school repeatedly because of a medical condition
JCPS Board Policy 09.123 provides for physician documentation involving treatment of the student.
What is the Physician Exemption of Parent Notes?
Families dealing with an ongoing medical issue may be able to request an extension beyond the normal parent-note allowance.
JCPS's district attendance page links directly to its Physician Exemption of Parent Notes form. JCPS says a parent or guardian may request an exception to Board Policy 09.123 and an extension of parent notes beyond 10 days with physician approval.
Where do I find the form?
Go to the JCPS Culture & Climate page, scroll to the Attendance section and look under Excused (Green Absences) for:
Physician Exemption of Parent Notes
JCPS links the form directly from that section.
If your child has a condition likely to cause repeated absences, contact the attendance clerk before hitting the 10-day mark.
Are mental-health days excused in JCPS?
They can be.
JCPS specifically includes mental or behavioral health within its illness category.
That doesn't mean every day a student simply does not want to attend school automatically becomes excused. The absence still has to be properly reported and documented under JCPS and school procedures.
3. Can You Take a Vacation During the School Year?
A normal family vacation should not be assumed to be excused.
But there is an important exception.
What is an EHO in JCPS?
Kentucky's Educational Enhancement Opportunity, commonly called an EHO, allows students to participate in qualifying educational experiences outside the normal classroom.
JCPS says an approved EHO can allow the student to be counted as present even though the student is physically away from school. The completed and signed form must be on file before the educational opportunity occurs.
Kentucky law allows up to 10 school days for qualifying experiences involving areas such as English, science, mathematics, social studies, foreign language or the arts.
But approval is discretionary.
The principal decides whether the proposed experience provides significant educational value.
Simply labeling a vacation “educational” does not make it one.
Can Disney World count as an educational trip?
Possibly—but don't count on it.
A family would need to show that the experience qualifies educationally and obtain approval before leaving.
The same applies to trips to Washington, D.C., New York, Europe, historical sites, museums or other destinations.
A trip with a legitimate educational plan is different from:
“We're going to the beach, but we'll visit a museum while we're there.”
The principal makes the decision.
Where can parents find the EHO form?
JCPS's main Attendance section links directly to the Educational Enhancement Opportunity form.
Some JCPS schools require advance notice beyond the district's basic requirement. Wheeler Elementary, for example, says families should present the form at least five days before the event, while Bloom currently asks for educational-leave requests well in advance.
Check your own school's deadline before making plans.
Vacation Decision Guide
Is your child missing school for a trip?
Normal family vacation?
→ Expect it to be unexcused.
Legitimate educational experience?
→ Ask about an EHO.
EHO approved by the principal before the trip?
→ It may receive excused-exempt treatment.
No approval before leaving?
→ Do not assume the school will approve it afterward.
4. Three Unexcused Absences—or Three Tardies—Already Matter
Parents sometimes focus on the 15-day number.
But Kentucky's truancy rules begin much earlier.
A student with:
3 unexcused absences
OR
3 unexcused tardies
meets Kentucky's definition of a truant.
A student who has been reported as truant two or more times is considered a habitual truant.
What happens after the third unexcused absence?
JCPS's Student Support and Behavior Intervention Handbook procedures call for a letter to the parent or guardian stating that the student is truant after the third unexcused absence. Schools can then use additional interventions, including conferences and attendance support.
JCPS has described interventions including:
Parent conferences
Counseling
Family team meetings
Attendance teams
Assistance addressing transportation or other barriers to attendance
The goal is generally to correct the attendance problem before it reaches the more serious legal thresholds.
What happens at 15 unexcused absences?
Current Kentucky law requires qualifying cases involving 15 or more unexcused days to be reported to the County Attorney.
For grades K–5, the law addresses a parent or guardian allowing the child to accumulate 15 unexcused days.
For grades 6–12, it applies when a habitual truant reaches 15 unexcused days.
That does not mean someone is automatically prosecuted on Day 15. JCPS and the Jefferson County Attorney have described court action as a last resort.
But parents should understand that 15 unexcused days is a legal referral threshold—not merely another attendance warning.
Changing schools doesn't erase the absences
Kentucky law makes a student's attendance record cumulative throughout the school year.
If a student transfers from one Kentucky public school to another during the year, the receiving school incorporates the previous attendance information into the student's official attendance record.
In other words, changing JCPS schools does not reset the truancy clock.
5. Excused Absences Can Still Make Your Child Chronically Absent
This may be the most misunderstood attendance rule.
There are two different questions:
Was my child's absence excused?
and
How much school has my child missed?
JCPS says a student is chronically absent when the student is present for 90% or less of full-time-equivalent instructional time.
Put more simply:
Missing roughly 10% of instructional time can result in chronic-absenteeism status.
And regular green excused absences still count in that calculation.
A child could miss school because of the flu, medical appointments and other legitimate reasons, have no truancy issue whatsoever, and still be considered chronically absent.
Excused does not mean the absence disappears.
It means the school accepts the reason under its attendance rules.
The student still missed instructional time.
What about perfect attendance?
Regular excused absences can also affect perfect-attendance recognition.
For example, Kammerer Middle currently tells families that an excused absence still counts as an absence and that a student with one or more excused absences cannot receive its perfect-attendance certificate.
Perfect-attendance awards can be handled at the school level, so families should check their individual school's rules.
Common JCPS Absence Situations
SituationUsually MeansChild is sickMay be excused with proper documentationMental/behavioral health absenceCan qualify as illnessDoctor/dentist appointmentGet provider documentationFamily emergencyMay qualify depending on circumstancesReligious observanceCan qualify as excusedNormal family vacationGenerally expect unexcusedApproved educational tripMay qualify as EHO / excused-exemptLate JCPS busListed by JCPS as excused-exempt
JCPS's district attendance page currently lists late buses among its gray excused-exempt attendance codes.
Attendance Warning Levels
NumberWhy It Matters10 illness daysNormal parent-note allowance becomes an issue3 unexcused absencesStudent meets truancy definition3 unexcused tardiesAlso meets truancy definition15 unexcused daysCan trigger County Attorney referralAbout 10% missedCan mean chronic absenteeism
Don't Forget About Tardies and Early Checkouts
Attendance isn't only about missing an entire day.
JCPS Board Policy 09.123 says a student absent for 35% or less of the regularly scheduled school day is considered tardy for policy purposes.
That means a tardy can result from more than arriving late in the morning.
Leaving school early can also affect the student's attendance record.
At least some JCPS schools explicitly remind families that early checkouts can be treated as tardies and can also affect perfect-attendance recognition.
Because three unexcused tardies can meet Kentucky's truancy definition, repeated late arrivals and early departures should not be treated as insignificant.
How to Check Your Child's JCPS Attendance
JCPS says parents and guardians can monitor attendance throughout the year through Campus Parent, part of Infinite Campus.
Parents should periodically check:
Full-day absences
Whether an absence is marked excused or unexcused
Tardies
Partial-day attendance
Whether submitted notes were actually entered
If you sent a doctor's note or parent note and the absence is still showing as unexcused, contact your school's attendance clerk rather than assuming it will eventually be corrected.
And keep copies or photos of documentation you submit.
People Also Ask: JCPS Attendance Questions
How many parent notes does JCPS allow for illness?
JCPS currently allows student illness—including mental or behavioral health—to be excused for up to 10 days unless an approved exception applies.
Remember: one note covering three days still represents three absence days.
Does a doctor's note excuse an absence in JCPS?
Medical documentation can support a qualifying medical absence. If your child sees a medical provider, obtaining documentation is a good practice—especially if the student has repeated absences or is approaching the normal parent-note allowance.
Does a parent note count if it is submitted late in JCPS?
Possibly not.
JCPS tells parents to notify the school when a child is absent and provide documentation, but individual schools may impose specific submission deadlines.
Bloom Elementary, for example, currently states that absence notes must be received within three days for consideration as an excused absence.
Don't wait. Submit the note as soon as possible.
Can I take my child on vacation during the school year?
A normal vacation should not be assumed to be excused.
If the trip offers a legitimate educational experience of significant value, parents can ask whether it qualifies for an Educational Enhancement Opportunity, but the principal must approve the request in advance.
How do I apply for an EHO in JCPS?
JCPS links the Educational Enhancement Opportunity form directly from the Attendance section of its Culture & Climate page.
Complete the form, submit it according to your school's procedure and obtain approval before the absence occurs.
Can Disney World qualify for an EHO?
Potentially, but there is no automatic “Disney exception.”
The question is whether the principal decides that the experience provides significant educational value. Approval is discretionary.
What are three unexcused absences in JCPS?
Three unexcused absences meet Kentucky's definition of truancy.
Three unexcused tardies can do the same thing.
What happens at 15 unexcused absences in JCPS?
Current Kentucky law requires qualifying cases involving 15 unexcused school days to be reported to the County Attorney for determination of appropriate court intervention, if any.
Do excused absences count toward chronic absenteeism?
Yes.
JCPS specifically says regular excused—or green—absences are included in chronic-absenteeism calculations.
Can a late JCPS bus be an excused absence?
JCPS currently lists a late bus as an excused-exempt gray attendance code, meaning it does not count against attendance in the same way as an ordinary absence.
What Parents Should Do Every Time Their Child Misses School
The safest routine is simple:
1. Notify the school.
2. Submit the required parent or medical documentation promptly.
3. Keep a copy or photo of the documentation.
4. Check Campus Parent afterward to make sure the attendance code is correct.
If your child has an ongoing medical condition, ask the attendance clerk about the Physician Exemption of Parent Notes before you reach the normal limit.
If you're planning an educational trip, submit the EHO request before you leave.
And don't ignore tardies or early checkouts.
The Bottom Line
For most JCPS parents, four numbers explain much of the attendance system:
10 — 3 — 15 — 10%
10 days matters for parent-documented illness.
3 unexcused absences or tardies can meet Kentucky's definition of truancy.
15 unexcused days can trigger a County Attorney referral.
Missing roughly 10% of instructional time can make a student chronically absent—even when many of those absences were legitimate and excused.
The best protection is simple: document the absence, submit the documentation promptly and check the student's attendance record afterward.
When in doubt, don't assume.
Ask your school's attendance clerk.
Sources and Methodology
JCPS Insider reviewed current JCPS district attendance guidance, Jefferson County Board of Education Policy 09.123, the JCPS Student Support and Behavior Intervention Handbook attendance procedures, Kentucky's truancy statutes and current school-level attendance guidance.
Key sources include:
JCPS Culture & Climate — Attendance / Pupil Personnel
JCPS Student Support and Behavior Intervention Handbook
Jefferson County Board of Education Policy 09.123 — Absences and Excuses
KRS 159.150 — Truancy and habitual truancy
Current Kentucky law governing the 15-unexcused-day referral threshold
JCPS school attendance pages used to identify school-level procedural differences
Last verified: August 17, 2026.
Attendance rules and school-level procedures can change. Individual JCPS schools may use different deadlines or additional documentation procedures. Families with questions about a specific attendance record should contact their school's attendance clerk.